ralve

Hi Venezia~~
Wow, your situation does sound familiar!! I am 45 years old now, and been having these palpitations since I was about 30. When they first started out, I didn't have any idea what they were, and now, this many years later, I am still struggling and learning about them. I think the thing that gets better with time, is the fact that you become less anxious about them, and learn to live with them. Think about this.....when I first started getting them, I would get a PVC, and my whole body would jump, it was like something I couldn't even control, and now, I have a PVC probably every 10 to 20 beats on the average, and just try to ignore it, and live with it. Of course, my body does not jump anymore when I get them, I'd be walking around jumping out of my skin! My point is that you and your body get used to them after a while. I know they are hormone related because even though I was only 30 when they started, I found out after researching it, that you can have menopause symptoms years before it actually starts, and sure enough, I went through menopause early, my periods starting getting irregular in my late 30's. Then, I remember I had the palpitations so bad this one last summer, they were so bad that I even had an epidsode of Atrial Fib that was caught on a holter moniter (just a short one) and then, right after that, my periods completely ended, and so did the palpitations. I went probably a whole year without any noticeable palpitations, just maybe some anxiety stuff. Then, out of the blue, they came back. After one whole year, I started getting them again, and sure enough, a period followed out of the blue. But now, I haven't had a period in probably about 8 months, and still have the palpitations really bad. The less you worry about it, and just try to live with it, the better off you are. You remind me of myself, because I have researched this alot, and have chosen not to go on any medication for them. Of course, you need to ask your doctor about your specific situation, but here is what I have learned. Every single anti-arrythmic drug out there right now has the potential to make your situation worse, and even take a non-dangerous situation, and potentially make it dangerous. So, obviously, I figured that if my palpitations were not life-threatening (and that is important to distinguish) then I should try to get by with natural treatements, and no medication. If my situation should change, and a new arrythmia occurs, this might change, but for now, the PVC's are supposedely annoying but pretty harmless. In and of themselves, I don't think they are dangerous from what my doctor tells me, and my own research, but this might change as I get older, and maybe get some other heart issues going on. But, for now, I have a ten year old, and need to do what is best for making sure I stay healthy now. I also try all kinds of different things on my own. For one, exercise really helps. Drinking alot of water helps. I also learn things that aggravate them, such as lack of sleep, stress, or eating a large or hot meal. Certain positions make them worse, like when I'm lying in bed at night, I sometimes will change my position, and they will calm down. I only take a multi-vitamin each day, and don't think I've noticed much difference with the different supplements that I've tried. I drink that Sleepytime tea by Celestial Seasonings, no caffeine, and that can help. I went on medication twice before, and each time, it would help for a while, only for them to come back it seemed even more aggravated. I don't like being on medication unless I need to. I do take one aspirin a day, I don't know if the PVC's themselves increase your risk of stroke, but I know that Atrial Fib does, so I do that just to be safe. The doctor advised the aspirin therapy, but now says I could probably go down to a baby aspirin, but I haven't done that yet, I guess just since my palpitations are so frequent, it feels like a safe thing to take a regular aspirin. Well, I hope this helped, it really is a very common thing, and remember that you can live with them, and just think of it as the normal way that your heart beats. Try to imagine that a PVC is a normal feeling, and that this is the normal rhythm of your heart. Good luck! Val